NEW YORK – The chairman of the Democratic National Committee said the party would not provide gubernatorial candidate H. Carl McCall with large sums of money unless he closes the double-digit gap in his campaign, a newspaper reported Thursday.
"I've got to put the resources where we can win elections,'' Terry McAuliffe told The New York Times on Wednesday. "If [McCall] closes the gap and shows he can win, I'm going to get him whatever he needs.''
McAuliffe said McCall would have to come within six to seven points behind Republican Gov. George Pataki in the polls before the Democratic party would channel any more money to him. A Quinnipiac poll released last week showed McCall trailing Pataki, by 47 percent to 31 percent.
The McCall camp has complained that the national party has given only $240,000 of a promised $500,000 in financing to the Democrat's gubernatorial bid, adding to his financial woes.
As of early October, McCall had $1.1 million in funds, while Pataki had $12.2 million. The Republican National Committee has sent about $1.5 million to Pataki's campaign.
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